NORWICH, Vt.- The Vermont State University Castleton football team went on the road Saturday to take on Norwich University in the annual Sap Bucket Game. The Cadets scored a defensive touchdown late in the fourth quarter and stopped a Spartan comeback attempt as they secured the Sap Bucket with a 17-10 victory.
 
The Basics
• Final Score: VTSU Castleton 10, Norwich 17
• Location: Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium – Norwich, Vt.
• Records: Castleton 1-1 | Norwich 1-1
 
How It Happened
The Spartans won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Cadets started with possession at their own 30-yard line. They would march down the field, but Castleton was able to stop the drive at its 14-yard line. Norwich's Allen Cohen converted a 31-yard field goal to put the Cadets ahead 3-0 with 9:10 remaining in the period


Castleton went three and out on its first drive. Norwich's second drive also stalled after Tyler Buxton (Middlebury, Vt./Middlebury) sacked Cadet quarterback Landon Beecher for a loss of seven yards on third and four at their own 33-yard line. The Spartans began their drive at their own 37. Ryan Freund (Glen Head, NY/North Shore) rushed five straight times to move inside Cadet territory, but Castleton had to punt once again.

The Cadets made their way onto the Spartan side of the field to start the second quarter. On third and eight from the Castleton 23-yard line, Beecher was picked off by Buxton and Castleton got the ball back. The Spartan's next drive went for naught as RJ Monger (Granville, NY/Granville HS) would be intercepted by Norwich's Iva Hayes at the Cadet 44-yard line.

The Cadet drive stalled at its own 47-yard line. Castleton punted again. Norwich began its drive at its 31. The Cadets moved to the Spartans' four-yard line and a Beecher three-yard pass to Jahmir Nixon into the endzone gave the home team a 9-0 lead with Zach Zegarra's extra point making it 10-0 with under two minutes left until halftime.

The Spartans started the third quarter with the ball. Back-to-back catches by tight end Brody Tyburski (Quechee, Vt./Hartford) gave Castleton possession on the Norwich 47. On third and eight from the 45, Monger completed an 18-yard pass to Anthony Lopez-Hippler (Athol, Mass./Athol HS) to get to the 27. Max Cutler (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional HS) ran for 11 and two yards, respectively, to get the Spartans to the Norwich 9-yard line. Monger's third and eight pass to Ty Dowell (Ruskin, Fla./Lennard High School) fell incomplete and Zach Dragon (Sudbury, Vt./Otter Valley Union) came on to convert a 25-yard field goal to get Castleton on the board and make 10-3 with 8:48 showing on the game clock.

 After a defensive stop, the Spartans got the ball back at their own 16-yard line. On first down, Monger completed a 50-yard pass to Dowell who ran all the way to the Norwich 34. The Spartans were then backed up to the Norwich 41 following a holding call. The drive stalled as Castleton turned the ball over on downs.
After forcing another Norwich punt, the Spartans took over on their own 17.  Castleton moved the ball to the Cadet 40. Facing a fourth and 10, Monger rushed for 11 yards to give Castleton a first down at the Norwich 29. The Spartans seemed poised to possibly tie the game up but on a third and five from the Cadet 13, James Colzie IV (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Citadel (Canada) caught a pass and ran to the five-yard line but fumbled the ball as Norwich took over. The Spartan defense backed the Cadets up to their own two. On third down, Beecher was picked off Wyatt Fuller (Center Rutland, Vt./Rutland HS) at the 13 to give the ball back to the Spartans. This time, Castleton took full advantage as on 4^th and 17 from the 20-yard line, Monger found Tyburski in the corner of the endzone for the touchdown. Dragon's extra point tied the contest at 10-10 with 5:14 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Norwich punted on its next drive and Castleton started at its own 20. The drive ended at the 31-yard line as Monger was sacked and fumbled. The Cadets could no better as they turned the ball over on downs at the Castleton 28 with under a minute left in regulation. On first down, Monger's pass was intercepted by Norwich's Harry Ellis and he ran into the endzone for the score. With the extra point, it was 17-10 Norwich with 37 seconds remaining.

Castleton was able to move to their own 35 following a fourth down conversion by Dowell on a 10-yard catch. Monger then threw to Lopez-Hippler for a 27-yard connection down to the Norwich 38. With two seconds left, Monger heaved a Hail Mary pass toward the end zone, but it was broken up by Elijah Harris at the one-yard line.
 

By the Numbers


·       Monger passed for 236 yards on the day going 22-for-41. He had one touchdown pass
·       Freund ran for 67 yards on 18 carries
·       Dowell made seven grabs for 91 yards. Lopez-Hippler added four catches for 72 yards. Tyburski caught five balls for 62 yards and a score
·       Josh Cormier led the defense with nine tackles
·       Buxton and Deacon Schneider both had six tackles each. Buxton had a sack and interception
 
What's Next
Castleton returns to Dave Wolk Stadium next Saturday for Homecoming. The Spartans will face Maine Maritime Academy with kickoff schedules for 12:00 p.m.